Electric-railway contact



(No Model.) I

P. 0. BLAOKWELL. ELECTRIC RAILWAY GONTAOT.

No. 426,102. Patented Apr. 22. 1890.

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FRANCIS O. BLACKIVELL, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE THOMSON-HOUSTON' ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CONNECTICUT.

ELECTRlC-RAI LWAY CONTACT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,102, dated April22, 1890.

Application filed July 28, 1889. Serial No. 318,410. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: The transverse rod or guide B is supportedon Beitknown that I, FRANCIS O. BLAOKWELL, the outer end of one or moresupporting-rods a citizen of theUnited States, residing at New C, whichon transverse axes are pivoted to York, in the county of New York andState the roof of the vehicle, and are held up of New York, haveinvented certain new and against the line-wire by a spring D, as shown 55 usefullmprovementsinElectric-RailwayConin Fig. V. Rod 13 is hollow andslotted, as tacts, of which the following is a specification. shown inFig. VII, and a traveler E therein My invention relates to contactdevices for has two projections Z) through the slot, which anelectrically-propelled vehicle, by means of embrace the wheel A andserve to move it which it may be constantly kept in electrical along therod to any desired position. Each connection with an insulatedline-conductor end of the traveler has a cord or wire attached,suspended above the roadway. It is illuswhich extends out through theend of the rod, trated in the accompanying drawings, in and the two thenreach down to the platform Whichof the vehicle, where they serve for thema- 15 Figure I is a front elevation of my contact nipulation of thedevice both to draw down device. Figs. II and III are details of the con0 and to adjust A laterally, so as to strike tact or trolley wheel. Fig.IV isa perspective the wire, when C is allowed to rise again. view of myswitch-point. Figs. V and VI are In practice it has been found that therespectively side and front elevations of my contact device, in order topreserve continu- 20 contact device applied to a car, and Fig. VII isous contact with the line-conductor, must be a detail view illustratingthe slotted hollow capable of two movements one upward and guide andfollower for shifting the contactdownward toward and away from theconwheel. ductor in a plane substantiallyparallel there- The principalfeatures of my contact device with, and the second laterally ortransversely 2 5 are, first, that the wheel which runs in conacross theconductor=-and in the contact detact with the line-wire is journaledupon a vices heretofore used these movements have transverse guideplaced at the end of a rod been secured by jointing the supporting rodor similar extension from the vehicle, so that or pole in such a mannerthat it is free to it may have a fredoin of lateral movement swing ineither direction. Mypresent inven- 30 independent of the rod, and thusaccommotion, however, secures the desired capability date itself toirregularities of the line wire of movementforthecontact-makerin anothermuch more easily than in the present form way, and itwill be observedthat the disof the device, wherein the wheel has a fixed tinctivegeneric difference resides in the fact bearing on the rod and the roditself has a that the present contact device consists of 3 5 pivotedconnection with the vehicle, affordtwo parts or members, one of which isconing the necessary movements relative therenected to the vehicle in amanner permitting to; secondly, the wheel has supplemental one of thedesired movements but not the spring-pressed hearings on the transverserod, other, while the second member, being carried which serve to insurea good electrical conupon the first, partakes of its movement, but

40 nection with it, and has also two cords, which is capable also of anadditional independent serve both to draw the main supporting-rodmovement in the second direction in which, down and also to adjust thelateral position as abovepointed out, thecontact-maker should of thewheel on the guide in putting it in pobe free to travel. Thus in thespecific consition against the line wire. struction shown the rod orsupporting exten- 45 In the drawings, A is the contact maker, sion Cwill constitute one member of the con- 5 herein shown as a hollowtrolley-wheel, which tact device, and this is capable of the up-andisprovided inside with two spring-pressed down movement around itstransverse axis, pieces a, which rest on the transverse rod B, while thecontactunaker Ais the second memuponwhich the trolley-wheel isjournaled,and ber, and this has, in addition to the move- 50 insure an electricalconnection therewith. ment of the rod C,an independentlateral or IOOtransverse movement. This same combination of movements, as I am aware,can be secured by other and different constructions, and my claims areintended to cover all such as fairly fall within the spirit of theinvention.

In Fig. IV a switch-point adapted to this and to other contact devicesis shown. F is the line-wire, and G is a branch therefrom, both beingsupported by a curved hanger H. The branch wire G is lower than F, andhas a spring-pressed switch-point K, with its point resting normallyagainst main line F. As the Wheel A approaches the point it rides downupon it, and then follows it to the right and is led off upon wire G,while on the other hand, When the car is moving in the other direction,the point K is forced aside by the wheel, which passes 011 out frombeneath it.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in an electric railway, of a suspendedline-conductor, an electricallypropelled vehicle, and an intermediatecontact device spring-pressed against the under side of thelineconductor, and consisting of two members, one of which is free tomove laterally across the conductor and the other vertically toward andaway from the conductor, whereby the contact-maker is allowed freedomboth of transverse and vertical movement, in order to maintain thetraveling engagement with the conductor, as set forth.

2. The combination, in an electric railway, of a suspendedline-conductor, an electricallypropelled Vehicle, and an intermediatecontact device consisting of a rod or support pivoted so as to permit ofup-and-down movement relatively to the conductor, and a contact-makingpiece carried upon the support, and having an independenttransversemovement relatively thereto.

3. The combination, in an electric railway, with a suspendedline-conductor and an electrically-propelled vehicle, of a contactdevice consisting of a rod or support extending upward from the vehicleand movable upward and downward toward and away from the conductor, anda contact-making piece carried upon said support, but having anindependent lateral movement relatively thereto.

4. The combination, in an electric railway, of a suspendedline-conductor, an electricallypropelled Vehicle, and an intermediatecon.- tact device consisting of an upward-extending rod or supportpivoted to the vehicle on a transverse axis and provided with atransverse guide, and a contact-making piece free to travel along saidguide, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, in an electric railway, of a suspendedline-conductor, an electricallypropelled vehicle, and a contact deviceconsisting of an upward-supporting extension from the vehicle, and atransversely-traveling grooved contact-wheel thereupon engaging theunderside of the conductor.

6. In a contact device for electric railways, the combination of asupporting rod or extension and a contact-wheel journaled thereon with asupplementary spring-pressed contact electrically connecting the wheeland its journal, for the purpose set forth.

7. In a contact device for electric railways, the combination of thehollow contact-wheel and the springpressed contacts shielded thereby andengaging the journal of the wheel, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a line-conductor and an electrically-propelledvehicle, of an intermediate contact deviceconsisting of an upwardextension from the vehicle, and a transversely-traveling contactpieceatits outer end, and an operating-connection extending therefrom to thevehicle, whereby its lateral position may be determined at will;

9. The combination, in an electric railway, of a suspendedline-conductor and an electrically-propelled vehicle with a contactdevice comprising a transverse guide, and a contact maker free to travelalong said guide, and an operating-connection therefor extending to thevehicle for determining the lateral position of the contact-maker, asset forth.

10. The combination, in a contact device for an electric railway, of themovable upward extension from the vehicle, a transversely-travelingcontact-piece on its outer end, and a common operating connection forthe contact-piece, and the movable extension by which the lateralposition of the former and the upright position ofthe latter aredetermined.

11. The combin ation, with the transversely traveling contact device, ofa cord or similar flexible operating-conneotion extending from each sidethereof and leading to the vehicle.

FRANCIS O. BLACIUVELL.

lVitnesses:

J. L. BLAcKwELL, R. IV. BLAOKWELL.

